Couple caught with 'Aladdin's cave' worth of stolen items ordered to leave jurisdiction

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that subsequent analysis of Muhammed Kashif's laptop led to the discovery of 200 pages of online chat, which involved four participants disclosing the details of thousands of credit cards.

Kashif (42) and his wife Deepa Vaswani (39) had used stolen credit card details to pay for €1,452 worth of toys from Smyths Toys, €161 worth of sex toys and their six night stay in the Fitzwilliam Hotel on Stephen's Green, costing €2,781.

Garda Cathal Feely told Ronan Kennedy BL, prosecuting, that they had also used stolen credit card numbers to buy flights from Dublin to New York, costing €3,592 and Dublin to Kuala Lumpur costing €8,798.

He agreed with Mr Kennedy that when officers raided the hotel room it was “an Aladdin's cave” with over 140 items being seized as potential exhibits.

This included a camera, a €4,000 watch, six mobile phones, a large amount of new clothes and €15,000 worth of various currencies from Brazil, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Australia, Moldova, Thailand, Malaysia and Trinidad and Tobago.

Today, Judge Melanie Greally said the case in her view merited a considerable custodial sentence, but she noted that the couple had been separated from their young children for a prolonged period of time.

She suspended the final three years of the four-year sentence, taking into consideration the couple's early pleas, lack of previous convictions and the positive way they had applied themselves in prison.

Judge Greally also took into account their family circumstances and the positive testimonials handed into court. She ordered that they leave the jurisdiction within seven days and not return for 20 years.

Earlier, the court heard the couple were caught after Barclays Bank contacted Smyths Toys to alert them to the fact that a customer's credit card had been used fraudulently to make a large purchase at their store.

Gda Feely agreed with Mr Kennedy that Kashif “made no admissions of criminal activity” during garda interview and claimed a friend had bought the toys. He said he had employed a travel agent who had booked all their flights and accommodation.

Vaswani told gardaí that she believed her husband booked the flights through a travel agent after giving the agent cash. She accepted that she had taken delivery of the toys.

Kashif and Vaswani with an address at Surin Residence, Malaysia, both pleaded guilty to handling stolen credit card information, being reckless as to whether it was the proceeds of criminal conduct, unlawfully operating a computer with the intention of making a gain, two charges of dishonestly buying flights online, obtaining hotel accommodation using stolen payment card details and theft from both Smyths Toys and Love Toy Shopper on dates between December 1 and December 7, 2017.

Additionally, Kashif pleaded guilty to criminal damage of the following toys: a Lego Box, Sylvanian Families, Barbie House, My Little Pony Dolls and Little Live Pet. He was in the process of opening all the toys to store them in a larger container and it is on this basis that he was charged with damaging the packaging of the toys.

The couple have been remanded in custody since their arrest. They have no previous convictions.

Kashif is originally from Pakistan, while Vaswani is from Singapore. They were living in Malaysia with their three children before they travelled to Ireland.

Keith Spencer BL, defending, told Judge Greally that his clients' children, who are nine, seven and five years old were being minded by two nannies in Malaysia when their parents first began travelling around Europe.

He said the children's residency in Malaysia was dependent on their father living there too and since his clients' remand in custody, their residency visa has expired.

They are now being cared for by a distant relative of Vaswani and are no longer permitted to attend school.

Counsel asked the court to consider releasing one or both of his clients from custody, by suspending any sentence imposed, to allow them to return home to sort out the family's situation.

He accepted that both Kashif and Vaswani were “authors of their own misfortune” but said the situation in relation to their children was worrying.

“They are family people and want nothing more than to return to their children,” Mr Spencer said.

Mr Spencer told the court that Kashif said he got his laptop from a friend and accepted that “the motivation behind his crime was greed”.

ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE

Gda Feely agreed with Mr Spencer that his clients were only charged with having stolen toys and sex toys, buying the flights fraudulently and paying for the hotel stay with stolen credit card details.

He accepted that his clients admitted in interview with gardaí that they had travelled to four European countries before coming to Ireland but he refused to accept that the various different currencies were going to be used in their onward travels.

“I don't believe they were intending to travel to the Maldives or Trinidad and Tobago,” Gda Feely said but accepted there was no evidence to suggest that the money had been stolen.

Mr Spencer said his clients married in 2010, having met the previous year while they were both working in the textiles industry.

He said Kashif, a professional tailor, was earning a significant livelihood from textiles and employed a number of staff. He was the father of Vaswani's two younger children and had adopted her older child.

Mr Spencer said Vaswani was a legal secretary for a time and also taught pre-school children before she went into the textiles business. She speaks several languages.